School switch pitch has some Winnipeg parents irate

Some parents at Hastings elementary school are upset the school division wants their children to swap buildings with students at Ecole Marie Anne Gaboury, across the playground. (Google Street View)

A proposed school swap in a Winnipeg neighbourhood is pitting English students against French immersion students.

The Louis Riel School division wants students from Hastings elementary school in St. Vital to switch buildings with students from neighbouring Ecole Marie Anne Gaboury.

The two schools are adjacent to one another and share the same playground.

Where they differ is on the inside. While Hastings has extra room, Marie Anne Gaboury is short of space.

Hastings parent Carey Bridges is not happy with how the situation has been handled. He said the school division is trying to make the switch without giving parents and students a chance to have their say.

"Parents have said they've had children cry about it [because] already there's rumblings in the playground, 'We're taking your school; we're gonna get your school,'" he said, adding parents and students from his school have been blindsided.

"Marie Anne Gaboury has actually been aware of this for months. They've been meeting on it [but] it's been closed door meetings," he said.

"They're all for it. They want their kids in our school, right? Well who wouldn't. It's a better facility."

Parents will meet with school officials tonight to discuss the proposal.